Crown Bay Shopping Mall *SUGAR MILL* ????

[mickeychicky]

Does anyone know what or where the "Sugar Mill" is at the Crown Bay Shopping Mall?  Restaurant? Bar? The giant windmill I see in photos? 

We have an excursion we booked thru travel agent and our tour company is actually Sunny Liston and they meet us at the Sugar Mill in the Crown Bay Shopping Mall if we are docking there, which I'm pretty sure we are since its Wonder of the Seas.

[Ms411]

The sugar mill is a replica of an old plantation sugar mill. You walk north past the shops as you get off the ship and you'll eventually see it. There may be a restaurant/bar inside, but those businesses come and go. The mill remains.

[TTEllis]

Windmill😳🙄what Windmill?

 

Well a Windmill is a start anyway. I guess.🥺

At least your not staying on the ship by yourself pounding Shirley Temples taking selfies on a empty ship. While everyone else is out enjoying an otherwise very fun and beautiful destination. 

Your making progress..........I think.😕

 

 

 

 

[Ms411]

Sugar

[TTEllis]

Hmmm, yesiree that's a windmill alright.😳

Hey it's a start.🥴

The weather certainly looks lovely, don't it though!😎

Thanks Ms411 for the update.😁

 

[Ms411]

Royal Caribbean negotiated with the port management a few years ago that their tours meet closest to the ship so private tours meet a little further away. When I did a Western Caribbean cruise I was shocked at how far you had to walk to get to anything that wasn't owned/controlled by the ship and how they kept locals out.

 

 

[TTEllis]

That's not only unethical and wrong it's criminal. I noticed that in Barbados as well had to walk about half a mile outside the gate to get to our private tour bus. 

All the B.S. ships tours were inside security waiting for everyone we had to walk almost a half a mile to find our tour bus because our tour wasn't booked through the ship. 

I didn't think much about it but it's a crummy unfair racket, and one of many reasons I don't do ship tours. 

We've all heard the argument about if you book a ship's tour you never have to worry about the ship leaving without you. I've done literally countless wonderful private tours never associated with the cruise line. Never once had an issue of getting back to the ship before it disembarks wherever I was.  If I missed the ship it was because I was a complete idiot not because our tour operators bus or speed boat or whatever broke down. 

Yes the island tour business is scammy, I personally give my money to true locals it's staying that way. 

Have a nice evening.

[Ms411]

Whoever has the gold makes the rules.

[TTEllis]

Boy they certainly do.

I'm way off I thought there was a line when it came to how much the cruise lines had there hands into making money off us.

Tour operators on their own island's aren't even exempt from getting popped in one capacity or another. 

How greedy can ya get!! 

I'm sure it's completely legal but it's still dirty. 

I know "Whoever has the gold makes the rules". Got it!! Thanks. 

[mickeychicky]

13 hours ago, Ms411 said:

Royal Caribbean negotiated with the port management a few years ago that their tours meet closest to the ship so private tours meet a little further away. When I did a Western Caribbean cruise I was shocked at how far you had to walk to get to anything that wasn't owned/controlled by the ship and how they kept locals out.

 

 

They have made it extremely difficult to even leave the port in Costa Maya if you aren't doing a cruise ship tour.  You have to "find your way" out the back of the port, and then attempt to leave the security gates on your own.  We go to Maya Chan Resort only when in Costa Maya and they pick us up at a little store outside the port where they wait for us, but now I am hearing that is not even allowed. 

[Ms411]

If we hadn't seen a crew member when we were in Costa Maya, I don't think we would have found our way out of the port area. I won't do a Western Caribbean cruise again.

[mickeychicky]

1 hour ago, Ms411 said:

If we hadn't seen a crew member when we were in Costa Maya, I don't think we would have found our way out of the port area. I won't do a Western Caribbean cruise again.

You just have to know how to get out.  All the way behind the pools (red arrow).  They lock all the other exits unless you are with a cruise ship tour.  There's a long story on this on Maya Chan's Blog. http://box5202.temp.domains/~mayachan/nothing-makes-sense/

 

 

Edited August 10, 2023 by mickeychicky

[TTEllis]

Exactly the same thing on Trinidad. I didn't make it out of the port area I got escorted back to the ship. I'll never go back. 

[TTEllis]

On 8/10/2023 at 7:39 AM, Ms411 said:

If we hadn't seen a crew member when we were in Costa Maya, I don't think we would have found our way out of the port area. I won't do a Western Caribbean cruise again.

I just saw this.

I haven't done a Western Caribbean cruise in decades. It's not the same. 

The vibe is totally different than the Eastern and Southern Caribbean.

Has been for a long time.  

It's too much BS over something every time. 

There's some great deals on Western Caribbean cruises all the time, that's because nobody wants to go there anymore. Grand Cayman in all due respect SUCKS. 

I love Ocho Rios but it's not worth it anymore. 

 

Furthest west I'm going is Cozumel and that's pushing it. I'm not sure what's going on over there and I don't care. There's too many other nice and fun islands to visit to have mess with that nonsense. 

[mdrobtx]

On 8/9/2023 at 10:13 PM, TTEllis said:

That's not only unethical and wrong it's criminal. I noticed that in Barbados as well had to walk about half a mile outside the gate to get to our private tour bus. 

All the B.S. ships tours were inside security waiting for everyone we had to walk almost a half a mile to find our tour bus because our tour wasn't booked through the ship. 

I didn't think much about it but it's a crummy unfair racket, and one of many reasons I don't do ship tours. 

We've all heard the argument about if you book a ship's tour you never have to worry about the ship leaving without you. I've done literally countless wonderful private tours never associated with the cruise line. Never once had an issue of getting back to the ship before it disembarks wherever I was.  If I missed the ship it was because I was a complete idiot not because our tour operators bus or speed boat or whatever broke down. 

Yes the island tour business is scammy, I personally give my money to true locals it's staying that way. 

Have a nice evening.

Exactly. One single incident of a  private tour not getting guests back to the ship in time and they would be out of business. 
After our first couple of ship excursions we said "no more." Seemed to be a cattle call and expensive.
We've even hopped into a little cessna and flown over to another island for the day in Belize. No problem.